Adopting Alyosha: A Single Man Finds a Son in Russia. Robert Klose. 1999. 165p. University Press of Mississippi. Given the number of children languishing in orphanages overseas and the number of Americans clamoring to adopt, one would think that it would be a relatively quick and straightforward process to bring them together. Not so, particularly if the prospective parent is an unmarried man. The title gives away the happy ending, which somewhat deflates the suspense that builds as Klose, a columnist for the Christian Science Monitor and a biology professor in Orono, Maine, runs into one blind alley after another in his search for “Pablo,” the Latin-American boy he believes is waiting for him. With wry humor, Klose chronicles the adoption process, step by agonizing step, from his first meeting with an agency through parenting classes, obsessive cleaning for his “homestudy” inspection and dealing with adoption facilitators of varying levels of honesty and efficiency (one bilks him out of $4,000). After more than two years, much paperwork and many fees, Klose forgoes his Latin dream and, after spotting a boy in an adoption agency video, travels to Russia to pick up seven-year-old Alyosha. A combination journal, travelogue and, above all, love story, this is a wonderful read, even for those uninvolved in adoption. — Publishers Weekly

Adopting on Your Own: The Complete Guide to Adoption for Single Parents. Lee Varon. 2000. 256p. Farrar Straus & Giroux. The first guide of its kind, covering all stages of the adoption process. Adopting on Your Own addresses the questions and concerns of prospective single parents. Lee Varon, a practicing therapist specializing in adoption counseling and the single mother of two adopted children, helps readers make an evenhanded assessment of whether adoption is right for them, then leads them through the different stages of arranging and financing the adoption. She weighs the advantages of open versus closed and international versus domestic adoption for the single parent, and demystifies potentially daunting steps such as choosing an agency and preparing for the home study. Adopting on Your Own also offers up-to-date information on the latest developments in interracial adoption policy, the legal rights of gays and lesbians to adopt, and the evolving attitudes of agencies and social workers toward single-parent adoptions. Throughout the book, Varon draws on personal anecdotes and the experiences of her clients to offer honest, insightful advice on every step of the adoption process. About the Author: Lee Varon is a social worker with a Ph.D. in social welfare policy and the co-director of the Adoption Network, a counseling and referral agency that focuses on single parents. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Adoption for Singles 2008-2009: Everything You Need To Know To Decide If Parenthood Is For You. Victoria Solsberry. 2008. 268p. CreateSpace. Adoption for Singles 2008-2009 was written to walk single men and women through the process of adoption, whether domestic—private adoption of newborns or children in foster care—or international. This book helps you decide if you’re emotionally ready to be a parent, tells you what it costs to adopt and how others have managed it financially, and how to decide what age child is best for you. It describes the adoption process and how to start, and how to prepare your life and home for a child. It also contains Q&As with adoption professionals, adoptive parents, and a directory of countries and their policies toward American singles. Go to www.adoptionforsinglesbook.com to get free tools to help in your adoption process. About the Author: Victoria Solsberry is a single woman, a psychiatric social worker, and a personal and small business coach. She spends a great deal of her professional time helping high-functioning single adults make their lives exquisite and fulfilling. When presented with a choice of adopting a child or helping hundreds of other singles adopt, she, for the time being, chose to go for numbers! She lives across the river from Washington, D.C. in Arlington, Virginia, and enjoys the beauty of the nation’s capital, fabulous friends, and a loving family.

And Baby Makes Two: Motherhood Without Marriage. Sharyne Merritt & Linda Steiner. 1984. 264p. Franklin Watts. During the past five years, single women in their 30s have decided to become mothers. The author questions what this means in relationship to the culture. About the Authors: Sharyne Merritt is Professor of Marketing at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a consultant in the areas of marketing and survey research. She has a Ph.D. in Political Science and was a Visiting Scholar at UCLA’s Graduate School of Management. She has lectured and published widely in the fields of marketing and social issues. Linda Steiner is a Professor at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Double Take: A Single Woman’s Journey to Motherhood. Kathryn Cole. 1996. 256p. General Distribution Services, Inc.

Handbook for Single Adoptive Parents. Hope Marindin. 1997. 140p. Nat’l Council of Single Adoptive Parents. Now in its sixth edition, The Handbook for Single Adoptive Parents provides much needed information of particular interest to single adopters. The book is divided into six sections: the mechanics of adoption, managing single parenthood, coping with challenges, personal adoption experiences, frequently asked questions, and studies by professional social scientists showing the success of single parent adoption.

How to Become a Single Parent: A Guide For Single People Considering Adoption or Natural Parenthood Alone. Josephine Curto. 1983. 238p. Prentice Hall. It used to be that is you were single and contemplating parenthood, you face a formidable, complicated bureaucracy and the lack of any type of literature that might aid you in making a rational, successful desision. Now written by a single parent, you can get straight facts and advice on the issues involved in becoming a single parent. This book outlines the challenges and practicalities you will face when undertaking adoption or natural parenthood alone.

Mom’s the Word: A Memoir of Love & Survival. EM Stoddard. 2007. 196p. iUniverse. From Kirkus Discoveries: From a working single mother, a colorful account of the struggles and triumphs of raising her son while maintaining her sanity. Shortly into her marriage to her high-school sweetheart, Stoddard realized that her husband was an alcoholic. Nonetheless, the young, energetic couple was determined to make it work and, when conception failed, to adopt a child. Stoddard captures the journey of her marriage, her adoption and her eventual divorce through a series of surprisingly upbeat, idiosyncratic anecdotes that provide a window into the life of an ordinary couple. Tragic moments of the author’s travails with her husband’s alcoholism?including his violent attempts to keep her out of AA meetings?mingle with lighthearted reminiscences of her son’s early years as a precocious child. Stoddard is careful never to probe too deeply into the pain of her marriage or the emotional difficulties of divorce, choosing instead to focus on the practical pratfalls of parenting, like the hiring of a series of young and inept live-in nannies. She hires seven of them over the course of a few years, each bringing a unique brand of chaos to the Stoddard family?one invites a married man over at night, another has a substance-abuse problem, another leaps from being excruciatingly shy to embarrassingly provocative. Stoddard balances her role as an employer with the necessity of being a de facto parent to these would-be caregivers. The author’s job begins to require an increasing amount of travel, and her ex-husband’s escalating destructive behavior forces her to make difficult decisions about her son’s relationship with his father. Yet the anecdotes court the unspoken traumas without further analyzing the emotional effect on mother and son. Stoddard only provides a survey of young Matt’s adolescence, as viewed through family vacations, the death of pets, holidays, etc. The generally sophisticated and congenial prose style and anecdotal structure make for a pleasant read, but readers may wonder at the author’s unwillingness to go deeper. A warm portrait of motherhood and the struggles of being a single parent.

My Quest to Be a Single Dad: Thirty-Plus Years Trying to Adopt. Garry White. 2009. 196p. Tate Publishing. Author Garry White’s instinctual desire to love and provide a home for disadvantaged youth has been denied again and again on the basis of what appears to be personal bias and an isolated episode of mental illness several years in the past. In My Quest to Be a Single Dad, Garry fights the social implication and double standard that single men are unfit to be parents. Anyone involved in social family services or potential adopters will be intrigued by this determined author’s tale of continued rejection and social stigmas. Single adults hoping to adopt will also find valuable tips on the dos and don’ts of adoption, many of which Garry had to learn the hard way.

On Our Own: Unmarried Motherhood in America. Melissa Ludtke. 1997. 496p. Random House. At the heart of the national debate about “family values” is the population of women who become mothers without first becoming wives. Some critics regard them as monsters, others as brave alternatives to traditional American families. Regardless of the way they’re perceived, hundreds of thousands of unmarried women begin families each year. With a reporter’s zeal (author Melissa Ludtke is a former correspondent for Time magazine, where her articles—including more than 20 cover stories—focused on family and children), an analyst’s thirst for research, and a personal involvement with its subjects, the book is a compelling blend of stories and social commentary. While much commented upon, unmarried mothers themselves rarely comment on their status, and Ludtke has gathered interviews of women from all rungs on the socioeconomic ladder, from teenagers to fortysomethings. The result is a thought-provoking and timely study that covers complicated issues and offers a forge-ahead attitude to choices often considered unconventional, such as donor insemination—its history and the issues it raises—and adoption. Discussions about accidental and intentional pregnancy, plus true-life stories alternating between the two sets of mothers—teens and older adults—represent only a portion of the ground covered.

Single-Parent Experience, The. Carole Klein. 1973. 241p. Walker.

Single Parents by Choice: A Growing Trend in Family Life. Naomi Miller. 1992. 239p. Plenum Press.

Steps of Love: Single Adoptive Parenting. VM Cain. (YA). 1988. 133p. write for info. VMH Cain.

They Came to Stay: How a Single Parent Adopted Lee Heh from Korea & Holly from Vietnam. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky & Ruth Gruber. 1976. Putnam Pub Grp.

To Find My Son. Ron Putterman. 1981. 189p. Avon. Ron had no idea how personally involved he would become when he volunteered to work at the County Home for Neglected Children. Then he met Alan, a beautiful, blue-eyed seven-year-old with a sweet, eager smile—the most perfect child he’d ever seen. But behind Alan’s blue eyes were scars that only love could heal. And Ron soon found himself wanting to be the one to give that love. In the months that followed, helping a frightened little boy seemed easy compared to facing the questioning looks of friends and family—and fighting the open hostility and suspicion of County Welfare authorities. Ron was also losing his girlfriend, who felt she had lost Ron to Alan. Everyone seemed to question how a young, single man could possibly be a parent to a troubled little boy. But when Ron heard the words, “Me want you papa,” he had no doubts at all that he had become a father.

When Baby Makes Two: Single Mothers by Chance or by Choice. Jene Stonesifer. 1995. 216p. Lowell House. More and more women are having babies without the father’s consent, support or presence: Stonesifer’s title provides support and advice for those who choose this route, exploring the author’s personal experiences and including those of other women in similar situations. From emotional issues to economic challenges, this explains possible paths for successful childrearing sans father.